Abstract

Driving drunk is a scourge that causes unnecessary loss of life, medical expenses for the individual and the state as well as damage to property. Research by the Medical Research Council shows that 59% of drivers killed in road accidents were under the influence of alcohol (Road Traffic Management Corporation Road Traffic Report (2009) 49) and that fatal accidents cost South Africa R52 billion in 2007 alone (Hendricks at para [2] fn 1). There is a need to control the use of alcohol before driving as it is a threat to public safety (J Van der Westhuizen Forensic Criminalistics (1993) at 149). As such, there is a duty on the state to address the problem of drunk driving in an effective, unambiguous and constitutionally lawful manner. The approach in South Africa is to target the problem on many levels, both preventative and punitive, inter alia through provision of information and education (Arrive Alive campaign); and the prosecution of potential offenders. It is on the last-mentioned policy that this note is focused.